Judge orders Trump administration to pay full November SNAP benefits, but what happens next is unclear

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits for November, rejecting the administration’s plan to only issue partial benefits to the more than 40 million Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The [administration] failed to consider the practical consequences associated with this decision to only partially fund SNAP,” Judge Jack McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island said during a hearing on Thursday. “They knew that there would be a long delay in paying partial SNAP payments and failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer.”

McConnell was one of two federal judges who separately ordered the Department of Agriculture to use billions of dollars it has in a contingency fund to pay for November benefits, which did not go out at the beginning of the month as scheduled because of the ongoing government shutdown. The USDA had previously argued that it couldn’t use those funds because they were designated for natural disasters and other emergencies.

Although President Trump threatened to withhold SNAP benefits until the shutdown is over, the USDA said earlier this week that it would comply with the order. In a court filing, the department said that the $4.65 billion in the contingency fund would only be enough to cover “50% of eligible households’ current allotments.” McConnell’s latest order requires the department to tap into other sources to pay the benefits in full and mandates that it deliver the money to states by Friday.

The Trump administration swiftly filed a notice of appeal, indicating that it plans to ask a federal circuit court to overturn McConnell’s order. As of Thursday afternoon, it was unclear whether SNAP benefits would go out on Friday as ordered.

When will people get their benefits?

The funding for SNAP benefits comes entirely from the federal government, but states themselves are in charge of distributing it. Once the federal government finally sends the SNAP money to states, residents in some states may have to wait much longer to receive their benefits than others.

In its filing earlier this week, the USDA said that some states will be able to handle the logistics of doling out the benefits during these unique circumstances “in an automated manner with minimal disruption.” But other states may face “procedural difficulties” that could cause “significant delays” in getting SNAP money to the people who need it. The process of adjusting state SNAP systems could take “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months,” the USDA said.

Any variance in the timing of benefits would be on top of the major differences in how much money individual states provide to SNAP recipients.

Last year, the average person enrolled in SNAP got about $187 per month, but benefits can vary greatly based on individual needs and where people live. The typical SNAP household with a child in the U.S. got $574 total each month. The average monthly benefit in Hawaii was $377, the highest in the nation and $220 more than the average benefit in Minnesota.

How we got here

SNAP is the nation’s largest food assistance program. It provides benefits to nearly 42 million Americans each month, roughly 12% of the U.S. population. The program was started in the wake of the Great Depression, but the number of people enrolled and the total cost have skyrocketed in recent decades. In 2000, SNAP sent benefits to 17 million people, at a cost of about $17 billion. Last year, the government spent more than $100 billion on SNAP.

When the government shutdown started on Oct. 1, that meant there would be no new funds to cover benefits if the standoff lasted until the end of the month. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins began warning weeks ago that there were “not enough funds” to pay for the program as long as the shutdown dragged on.

As the deadline grew closer, states scrambled to find ways to prevent their residents from going hungry without the food benefits they rely on. Dozens of states provided millions of dollars to food banks, while a handful were able to find money within their budgets to at least partially cover the costs of benefits themselves.

Last week, a collection of nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit hoping to compel the USDA to use its contingency fund for SNAP. That case, along with a separate case filed about two dozen states, ultimately forced the Trump administration to begin the process of paying out partial benefits and eventually led to McConnell’s order demanding the distribution of full benefits.

Uncertainty over SNAP won’t end for good until the government reopens. As of Thursday, there were few signs that a deal to end the standoff, which became the longest-ever on Wednesday, might be imminent.